Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth lashed out at a reporter on Wednesday after the journo asked if the U.S. was about to commit a war crime.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump vowed to resume attacks on Iran this week after the country downed a U.S. Army Apache helicopter, whose crew was rescued in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. retaliated on Tuesday, but the president said he wants more strikes.

“We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The U.S. and Israel, which launched the war on Feb. 28, have hit both military targets and civilian infrastructure. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hegseth gave a vague outline of the U.S. plan of action, prompting one reporter to ask if the administration was about to engage in a war crime.

“You just mentioned you’re going to plan to hit them and strike them hard tonight,” the reporter said. “If the response is in hitting bridges, electrical infrastructure, how would that not be a war crime, potentially targeting civilian infrastructure?”

An irritated Hegseth responded:

Well, it’s precisely the kind of disingenuous question that I’m used to from the media, impugning the motives of the folks on our side who are incredibly professional and incredibly effective. We will hit them hard on our terms, on the targets that improve the environment for us to operate in and undermine the capabilities that Iran wants to have.

The U.S. and Iran have been in a so-called ceasefire since April, but the two sides have traded sporadic fire since then, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed at the start of the war in a move that has sent oil and gas prices surging.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!